


Of Rain and Restless Sleep

by Codee21



Series: Let’s Make It Count [8]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Discord: IronStrange Haven, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, M/M, Nightmares, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, POV Stephen Strange, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Tony Stark, Rain, Temporary Character Death, Thunderstorms, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 23:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17776424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codee21/pseuds/Codee21
Summary: During the day, Stephen Stark-Strange can usually ignore the flashbacks that have plagued him ever since he looked into the Time Stone. But at night, it's harder to distinguish this reality from the ones that could have been.ORMy obligatory IronStrange Nightmare Fic





	Of Rain and Restless Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I was hoping to publish a much fluffier story for the occasion, but alas, that one is nowhere near done yet. So instead, enjoy this pile of angst and feels (with a dash of fluff).
> 
> P.S. Stephen I'm sorry. You deserve none of this.
> 
> Written for the IronStrange Haven weekly prompt “Rainy/Stormy Day”

_The smell of blood, sharp and metallic, so much of it that he could taste it on his tongue._

_The sounds of desperate thrashing and a choked, wet gurgling, coupled with deep inhuman laughter._

_“Did you truly believe that I would spare him?” asked Thanos._

_The sight of Tony, blood pouring from the gaping wound in his neck - a long line curving upward into a grotesque smile._

_“Tony Stark is cursed with knowledge, and all knowledge comes with a price.”_

_“No,” Stephen pleaded, “no, no, no…”_

_The anger and betrayal in the man’s chocolate brown eyes for attempting to save his life by giving up the Stone. Their glaze of shock and fear as the life slowly faded from them, as his body sagged in the Mad Titan’s grip and the steady flow of blood leeched all color from his face._

_Stephen squeezed his eyes shut to block out the sight of Tony’s lifeless body. “Please. No, he can’t, I_ **_can’t_ ** _… God_ **_PLEASE!_** _”_

 _He clutched at the Eye of Agamotto dangling from his neck hopelessly. He would do anything,_ **_anything_** _, to turn back time and prevent this from happening… but of course the Eye was empty now. For the second time in his life, Stephen had tried to bargain with a monstrous enemy, and this time he had lost._

_They’d ended up in one of the bad timelines, then._

_He had lost everything. Tony was supposed to become his everything._

 

_And now… he was alone again._

 

~

 

Stephen woke with a start, a half-formed cry on his lips.

Everything was too bright, too loud. Where was he? His head felt as if it would burst from the onslaught of images and sounds that chased him from sleep, crowding out all thought.

 

Slowly, he became aware of soft silk sheets tightly twined around his legs. The feeling grounded Stephen, prompting him to focus more on the input of his senses. The sounds of deep, even breathing next to him gradually seeped into his consciousness, so different from the ragged gasps still echoing in his ears.

Noises of thunder, wind, and rain hammering against the Sanctum’s walls reverberated through its empty rooms. Combined with the sweat that dripped from his hair and glued his T-shirt to his chest, the noise left him momentarily disoriented. Was he outside? Again he felt the insistent tug of the sheets against his bare legs, and noted the springy support of the mattress beneath him. The person lying next to him sighed in their sleep.

No, not outside. In bed, he was in bed. In bed with…?

He wasn’t certain.

Not Christine. Christine snored.

But Tony was the only other person he’d ever shared a bed with. And Stephen had just watched him die.

Conflicting memories quickly flickered through his mind, each one disappearing before he could comprehend it.

_He looked on helplessly as Thanos slit Tony’s throat, severing too many arteries and veins for him to be able to put back together._

Kissing him goodnight.

_Tony lying face down on the rocky surface of Titan._

Lying next to him in peaceful darkness.

_Blood pouring from his wound, making a dark red clay as it mixed with the planet’s orange dust._

Feeling the heat of his body as consciousness faded to sleep.

_The limpness of his limbs when Thanos flipped him over to make sure that he was dead._

 

Stephen shook his head to clear it, but kept his eyes squeezed shut. At this point, he was fairly certain that he was no longer on Titan. Still, his stomach was churning violently, and he knew that if he opened his eyes to the sight of Tony’s bloodless body he would be sick.

He turned his head, identifying the soft mass beneath him as a pillow before pressing the side of his face against it. The movement stirred up a scent from the pillow’s silk case: the spice of an achingly familiar cologne wafted toward him. It smelled sharp and clean, with absolutely no trace of the metallic tang of blood.

Encouraged by this, Stephen took in a shaky breath and forced his eyes open.

 

The first thing he saw was a shock of messy brown hair resting on a grey pillow. A tan hand with a band of gold on its ring finger poked out from underneath.

_Tony._

Both the hand and head were utterly still. Stephen’s breath hitched in his chest, and he wished desperately that he could see his husband’s face. As he slowly shifted his gaze downwards, needing definitive proof that Tony was just sleeping, the back of the other man’s stupid Game of Thrones t-shirt came into his line of sight. The image of a direwolf sprawled across Tony’s back...which rose and fell evenly as he slept.

 

Oh thank God.

 

Stephen heard a small sob escape past his own lips. He pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle any more that may come, so he wouldn’t wake Tony. He was too late, though; the bed shifted as the other man rolled over to face him.

Tears pricked at his eyes. He let them escape without reservation.

Tony blinked up at him sleepily for a moment. After quickly reading his husband’s expression, his face tightened to a frown. “Which one?”

“He cut your throat,” Stephen whispered, nearly incoherent as he began to cry in earnest.

“Shhhhh,” soothed Tony as he pulled his lover close to him. “No he didn’t. Listen to my heart beating, baby. Deep breaths.”

Gently, Tony took one of Stephen’s scarred hands and raised it to his own neck. The sorcerer felt nothing but smooth, dry skin under his fingertips.

“See? No cuts, no blood, no scars. Just me.”

Stephen let out another strangled sob and slid himself impossibly closer to the other man’s body. He pressed his lips to Tony’s neck, savoring the scent of his cologne and the soft warmth of his skin. A strong pulse fluttered beneath his kiss. Taking a deep breath, he tried to slow his heart rate to match the pace of his lover’s. Gentle, calloused fingers carded through his hair soothingly.

 

They laid like that for what felt like hours - Stephen held protectively in Tony’s embrace, listening to the thunderstorm that still raged outside their darkened bedroom - before his heart no longer felt as if it was trying to escape from his chest.

“I love you,” he eventually whispered into the crook of his husband’s neck, and felt the other man shiver in response. “More than you’ll ever know.”

“And I love you,” replied Tony. “More than I ever thought possible.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This work is part of a series. All fics are standalone, but they fit within one narrative timeline and compliment each other. If you like what you just read, check out the rest of the series and subscribe for more updates! :)
> 
> Kudos and comments are ALWAYS appreciated


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